Last week, Governor Walker made additional changes to his staff and cabinet with the appointment of a senior advisor and new cabinet secretary. The governor appointed Ray Allen as the Secretary of the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) and Matt Moroney as a Senior Advisor in the governor’s office. Allen has been deputy secretary at […]
JFC Holds Agency Briefings for Three Days
Date Thu, Mar. 5, 2015 - 7:45pm By Hamilton
The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) met for three days this week to hear testimony from nearly all state agencies on the governor’s proposed budget. Legislators posed questions to the department secretaries on the implementation of budget proposals and asked other questions pertaining to agency services. JFC members heard testimony from most agencies, however a few […]
Historic Preservation Tax Credit Report Released
Date Thu, Mar. 5, 2015 - 7:40pm By Hamilton
The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) submitted its annual report on Historic Preservation Tax Credit Assistance program to the Joint Committee on Finance (JFC). The report provides a summary of the total level of credits awarded under the program from its inception and details on the projects that received the credit. The historic tax credit, […]
Prominent Political Commentator to Speak in Madison
Date Thu, Mar. 5, 2015 - 7:31pm By Hamilton
Prominent political commentator Ezra Klein is set to speak at Memorial Union in Madison next week for a public lecture. Klein, lead The Washington Post’s Wonkblog, before leaving to create Vox.com, a general news site that provides context to complicated current events. Klein was named one of the 50 Most Powerful People in Washington […]
Business Day in Madison 2015
Date Thu, Mar. 5, 2015 - 7:28pm By Hamilton
Business Day in Madison is the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce largest event of the year, with record setting attendance, speakers, seminars, and legislative visits. Speakers included: KT McFarland, a foreign policy expert that advised three sitting American presidents; Ed Goeas, of the Tarrance Group, a national pollster; Governor Scott Walker; Attorney General Brad Schimel; John […]
Bills of Note: TIF and Screenings for Newborns
Date Thu, Mar. 5, 2015 - 7:22pm By Hamilton
In this week’s edition of Bills of Note, we update you on the tax increment financing (TIF) bill package and a bill that requires newborns be screened for lysosomal storage disorders. TIF Bill Package The tax increment financing bill package is a product of the 2014 Legislative Council study committee on TIF – also referred […]
Legislature in Midst of Extraordinary Session on “Right to Work”
Date Fri, Feb. 27, 2015 - 9:43am By Hamilton
Last week, legislative leaders announced an extraordinary session of the Wisconsin legislature to pass Right to Work legislation. Soon after the announcement, Governor Scott Walker said he would sign Right to Work into law if the bill reaches his desk. Right to Work laws are designed to protect employees from being forced to pay dues […]
LinkWisconsin Gets Upgrade
Date Fri, Feb. 27, 2015 - 9:36am By Hamilton
The Public Service Commission (PSC) has announced the LinkWisconsin website has been upgraded to a new website with some new features and tools. According to a post from PSC Chairperson Phil Montgomery, “The launch of our new website correlates with the transition of the State Broadband Office’s (SBO) LinkWISCONSIN initiative from a federal grant […]
Election Update: 20th Senate District and Waukesha County Exec
Date Fri, Feb. 27, 2015 - 9:32am By Hamilton
State-wide primary elections were held in mid-February, deciding many mayoral candidates and referenda across the state. The two elections to follow on the state level were the special primary election for the 20th Senate District, and the primary for Waukesha county executive. The seat for the 20th Senate District is currently vacant because the predecessor, […]
LFB: Administration to Delay $108 million Debt Payment
Date Thu, Feb. 26, 2015 - 4:44pm By Hamilton
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) has released a memo describing the administration’s planned restructuring of a general purpose revenue (GPR) $108 million commercial paper principal payment in May 2015. According to the memo, the governor and Department of Administration (DOA) are planning to delay a $108 million debt payment in the current Fiscal Year (FY) […]